Baffle and closure assembly for food waste disposer



ay 28, c. H. EWING 2,793,373

BAFFLE AND CLOSURE ASSEMBLY FOR FOOD WASTE DISPOSER Filed Sept. 30, 1955 1 INVENTOR CLIFTON H. EWING AT'roRrg M BAFFLE AND CLOSUREASSEMBLY-FORrFOOD. WASTE DISPOSER Clifton H. Ewing, Easthampton; Mass., assignor -to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East-Pittsburgh, Pin, acorporation of Pennsylvania Application. September 30, .1955, Serial. No. 537,690?- 4Claims; (ClL 4-189) This'invention relates; to a food'waste disposer, more particularly to a' bafile'and closure-assemblyfor a food" waste disposer supported froma kitchen sink with its inlet connected to the drain opening of the :sink.

An objectjof the"invention-;isto provide an improved baffle and closure assembly.-

Another object is to'providc a bafllegandclosureassem= bly which, atone time, serves as bafllemeans to prevent comminuted particles and water flying'up' out' of th'edisr poser while his in operation and at the, same timepermits flow' of waterinto, thedisposer' to'carry'away the. comminuted' particles; which; at another time; provides: a water-tight. seal to permith'olding water-inthe sink; as forrwashing dishes, and which, at still another time, per mit access to the disposer for the'purposeofinserting" material to be comminuted" and" for." removing" articles; that may havev been inadvertently; admitted thereto;

A further object is toprovide a baflleand'closure'assembly that is simple, may be inexpensively-manufacturedand is easy' to' use.

The baffle and-closure assembly of the present invention comprises a baflleelement. made of a, resilient material, such asrubber. This element comprises an annular peripheral supporting portion adapted to be mounted in the inlet iopening qf thedisposenand; a plurality-t ot resilient fin e i e lem nts. extending; radially: inward:- ly. The assembly further includes findlSC-ilkb. closure member or-lid adapted to seat on pthe peripheralsupr porting portion, which. forms, a seat. for the closure member. The peripheral supporting portion is provided with :a: number ofupstanding-projections which- -are-circumferentially spaced from each other and which are disposed outwardly of the seat. The closure is provided with a number of circumferentially spaced projections which extend radially beyond the seat and which are adapted, in one angular position of the closure member, to interleaf with the projections on the peripheral supporting portion to permit the closure to rest on the seat to provide a seal, and in another angular position of the closure member, to rest upon the projections of the peripheral supporting portion, in which case the closure is held in raised position and permits flow of water into the disposer during operation thereof in order to carry away the comminu-ted particles.

These and other objects are effected by the invention as will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. l is a vertical section showing the upper portion of a food waste disposer connected to a sink, and also showing the bafile and closure assembly of the present invention with the closure or lid in the raised position;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the baflle element;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the closure member;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section showing the baflle and closure assembly in the closed or seal position;

nitecl States Patent Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectiontaken on the-lineV-V of Fig. 4, showing the lidrinathearaised position;

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the baffle element, the lid being removed;

Fig. 7 is" asimilar viewwith the lid" in the closed position; and

Fig; 8 is-a vertical section showing amodified formof bafile element.

Referring to" thedrawingin detail, the upper portion of-the housing 10'of'the food waste disposer-isconnected is connected to the sink 11,= in communication with thedrain opening therein, by a -mounting;structure which includes an adapter ring--or-=sleeve--12; The latter includes a substantially"cylindrical portion having atits upper enda flange 13 resting on-the adjacent portion of the-sink 11. A supportingring I4-rests--on-a split 'ring IS -seated in a groove in =the-adapter ring 12, and a flange 16 at the upper end of 1 the "housing -10*isbolted*-to the ring-14, with a-rubb'er gasket 17 therebetween'.

The baflle; and closure "assembly-of the present invention comprises a plate-like b'aflle element 18and a closuremember-or-lid= 19. The-'b'aflle element 18-is-made of a resilient material, such as synthetic rubber, and includes" an annular; peripheral supportingportioni l; Which'rests on; a-shoulder' on the interior of the" ring 12 adjacent its'lower end? and whose outer"cylindrical 'surface' fits snugly againsrthe-inner or concave cylindrical surface ofth'e ring, resilient fingers-=22 which extend' radially: inwardly from the-annular supporting portion 21-. The, supportingportion- 2 1is: formed"withhan annular rib 23, which forms a seat for the lid 19. It is reinforced by a metal ring-,2! and is formed with, a groove to receive thering: form-shown in-Fig: 4, the-groove opens radially inwardly;

whereasdn the form shown: in-Fig. 8-the'groove opens,

radially outwardly: The ring is preferably of plated brass andmay beof any'cross sectional form to provide desired strength.- It may, if desired; be moldedzint-o the supporting portion 21.

The -supporting portion 21 of-th'egbafile element .is f urther provided with three 'circurrrferentially. extending and circumferentially spaced upstanding projections. 25, ,disposed outwardly of "the bead 23".

The lid 19 has an imperforate portion of 'suflicient diameter 'toseat'on tl1e"b;ead.:23f andthus to PIOvid'e a sealor'watentiglit" closure." It is also provided with three circumferentially spaced projections 26. The dimensions of the projections 25 and 26 are such that, in one angular position of the lid as shown in Fig. 7, the projections 26 of the lid interleave with the projections 25 of the baffle, so that the lid rests on the bead 23, and, when the lid is rotated through an angle of, for example, 30 degrees, the projections 26 of the lid rest on the projections 25 of the bafile to hold the lid in raised position. In this position, water may flow through the spaces between the projeotions and between the lid and the inner surface of the adapter ring 12, and through the openings in the baffle element into the interior of the disposer.

The upstanding projections 25 and 25a may be inclined upwardly and outwardly as shown in Fig. 8 to provide an outward bias against the inner surface of the sleeve 12, thereby retaining the bafile element 18 or 18a against the force of bones thrown upwardly against it. While the upstanding projections 25 and 25a are shown as integral with the supporting portion 21, it will be apparent that they are not necessarily so, but may be separate therefrom and united by a ring to retain them in proper relative position.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 8 represents principally a variation in form of the bafile element, which is here designated 18a. As mentioned, the groove for re- It furthercomprises arr-annularseri-es of,

ceiving the reinforcing ring 24 opens outwardly, and the upstanding projections are inclined outwardly. This embodiment also comprises an inclined seat 23a for the closure, instead of the rib 23.

Operation or use In the use of the disposer, the lid 19 is removed from the adapter ring 12, whereupon material to be comminuted may be inserted in the housing 10, during which time the fingers 18 flex freely to permit such insertion. The lid is then placed in the raised position shown in Figs. 1 and 5, in which space for the passage of water is provided. Continuous flow of water into the disposer from the sink is provided and operation of the disposer is started. The water flowing through the disposer carries away the comminuted particles as operation continues. Operation of the disposer causes particles to be thrown upwardly with some force, but these particles strike either the rubber baffle 18 or the lid 19 and then drop again by gravity or are carried downwardly by the flow of water. Should it be desired to admit additional material to be comminuted, the lid 19 may be lifted out of the ring 12, the material inserted and the lid replaced. As long as the lid 19 is removed, one may feed material continuously into the disposer during the operation thereof.

When it is desired to retain the water in the sink, as for washing dishes, the lid is merely rotated until interleaving of the projections permits it to move downwardly and rest on the seat provided by the head 23.

The battle element 18 may be easily removed for cleaning under the faucet, and may then readily be replaced merely by pushing it down into place, where it frictionally engages the inner surface of the cylindrical portion of the ring 12.

From the above description, it will be apparent that I have provided an assembly which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, which is understandable by everybody and easy to use, and which has no moving parts. It will also be apparent that when the bafiie element requires replacement, it may easily be removed and a new element installed.

While the invention has been shown in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A batfle and closure assembly for a food waste disposer comprising a plate-like baffle element of resilient 4} material having an annular supporting portion and a plurality of flexible fingers extending radially inwardly from the supporting portion, said supporting portion including a seat for a closure, circumferentially spaced upstanding projections disposed outwardly of said seat, said upstanding projections being maintained in predetermined relation to each other, a closure adapted to rest on said seat, and having cooperating projections adapted, in one angular position of the closure, to interleave with the first-mentioned projections to permit the closure to rest on said seat and, in another angular position of said closure, to rest on said upstanding projections to support the closure in raised position.

2. A baflle and closure assembly for a food Waste disposer comprising a plate-like bafiie element of resilient material having an annular supporting portion and a plurality of flexible fingers extending radially inwardly from the supporting portion, said supporting portion including a seat for a closure, and having circumferentially spaced upstanding projections disposed adjacent said seat, a closure adapted to rest on said seat and having cooperating projections adapted, in one angular position of the closure, to interleave with the first-mentioned projections to permit the closure to rest on said seat and, in another angular position of said closure, to rest on said upstanding projections to support the closure in raised position.

3. An assembly as set forth in claim 2 and further including an adapter ring comprising a substantially cylindrical portion, an outwardly extending flange at the upper end thereof, and an inwardly projecting shoulder at the lower end thereof, said supporting portion resting on said shoulder and engaging the inner or concave surface of said cylindrical portion.

7 4. An assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein the outer surfaces of said upstanding projections are inclined upwardly and outwardly to resiliently engage said inner or concave surface of said cylindrical portion. 

